National Annenberg Election Survey 2008 Phone Edition (NAES08-Phone) Codebook

PHONE National Annenberg Election Survey 2008 Phone Edition (NAES08-Phone) Codebook Copyright © The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania For the latest information about the National Annenberg Election Survey, visit www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org. To contact the NAES team, please email [email protected]. You can also write the NAES team at: National Annenberg Election Survey The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania 202 South 36th Street Philadelphia, PA 19104-3806 USA 2 NAES08-Phone Codebook contents This PDF also includes a hyperlinked table of contents; to view it, enable the Bookmarks sidebar in Acrobat or choose Table of Contents in Preview on the Mac. General explanatory notes: About NAES08-Phone Using the survey documentation and data Survey content overview Methodology Variable catalog: Variable directory Detailed variable listing 0 — Case and interview ID A — General perceptions of candidates and political figures C — Current issues — opinions and perceptions E — Media — exposure and opinions F — Campaign discourse — exposure and opinions K — Political participation M — Orientation to politics N — Perceptions of candidates' electoral chances R — Voting behavior and attitudes S — Social group perceptions W — Demographics Questionnaires: National Rolling Cross-Section Post-Election Reinterview NAES08-Phone Codebook contents 3 4 NAES08-Phone General explanatory notes NAES08-Phone General explanatory notes 5 6 NAES08-Phone About NAES08-Phone The National Annenberg Election Survey 2008 Phone Edition (NAES08-Phone) is a large-scale telephone public opinion survey designed to track the dynamics of political attitudes, perceptions, and behavior over the 2008 US primary and general presidential election campaigns. It is a continuation of the NAES survey series that includes the 2004 and 2000 US presidential elections. NAES08-Phone consists of interviews with 57,967 respondents covering a range of topics about the presidential campaign and politics generally, including candidates and political figures, current policy issues, media use, campaign discourse, political participation, and voting behavior. Detailed demographic information was collected, and a section of questions about social groups focused on perceptions of race and gender in US society. The survey was updated regularly to stay current with the campaign, and questions were added, revised, and discontinued as developments warranted. The main NAES08-Phone study, the National Rolling Cross-Section (RCS), consists of 30- minute telephone interviews conducted daily from December 2007 through the day before Election Day. During peak campaign periods, up to 300 interviews were completed daily, and weeks or individual days of data can be aggregated for cross-sectional analysis, or used sequentially for time-series analysis. A rolling cross-section methodology was used to randomly distribute daily interviews over the survey period. In addition, 3,737 randomly selected National RCS respondents interviewed during the 13 weeks before the general election were recontacted immediately after Election Day to complete a second survey. The Post-Election Reinterview combined with the respondents' initial interviews for the National RCS forms a pre-post panel around Election Day. The National Annenberg Election Survey is a project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania, which designed and managed the NAES08-Phone survey. Sampling and interviewing were conducted under the direction of APPC by Abt SRBI of New York. NAES08-Phone is a companion to the National Annenberg Election Survey 2008 Online Edition (NAES08-Online), an Internet-based survey that was conducted during an overlapping field period and asked many of the same or comparable questions. NAES08-Online documentation and data are available on a separate website accessible via the main APPC website. APPC provides the NAES surveys as a service to scholars and professionals. We ask that published analysis of the NAES credit the National Annenberg Election Survey of The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Further reading: Romer, D., et al. Capturing Campaign Dynamics, 2000 and 2004: The National Annenberg Election Survey. University of Pennsylvania: 2006. NAES08-Phone General explanatory notes 7 About NAES08-Phone Using the survey documentation and data NAES08-Phone studies NAES08-Phone consists of two studies: National Rolling Cross-Section (RCS): Telephone interviews with a rolling cross- section of 57,967 randomly selected US adults; interviews were conducted daily starting December 17, 2007, through November 3, 2008, the day before the 2008 presidential election Post-Election Reinterview: Telephone reinterviews with 3,737 adults initially interviewed for the National RCS; reinterviews were conducted November 5 – 10, 2008, immediately after the 2008 presidential election Variable catalog and data files Variable catalog The NAES08-Phone variable catalog lists all of the variables measured for the survey. Variable catalog sections: The variable catalog includes two main sections: The variable directory provides the names and titles of variables and the studies and interviewing dates for which variables were measured. The variable directory links to the detailed variable listing, which provides full information about variables, including question wording, response and other value options, filters, and sample splits. Subject categories: The variable catalog is grouped and ordered by subject categories. The order of variables in the catalog does not necessarily reflect the order in which questions were asked in interviews (see below). Data files The NAES08-Phone data files are provided in multiple configurations. Both SPSS (.sav) and plain text tab-delimited formats (.txt) are provided. In the data files, each case/row represents a unique respondent, and each column corresponds with a variable for a particular study. Data columns are named based on the variables and studies they represent (see below). 8 General explanatory notes NAES08-Phone Using the survey documentation and data Survey conventions Variable schedules Some variables were measured for all studies and interviewing dates, while others were measured for subsets of studies and/or interviewing dates. The variable catalog indicates the schedule for each variable, as in the following example: AAp01 Favorability of Palin Nat RCS R 8/29/08 – 11/3/08 The variable schedule is shown graphically. Schedule information for the National RCS is shown first (Nat RCS), followed by schedule information for the Election Reinterview (R). A dark bar indicates that the variable was measured for the full study; light bars indicate that the variable was measured for a subset of interviewing dates. The absence of a bar indicates that the variable was not measured. For the National RCS, the size and position of schedule bars approximate the proportion of the RCS field period for which the variable was measured. Question wording The detailed variable listing provides the wording of questions asked on the survey. Variation by interviewing date: The wording of some questions changed as the survey was in progress: Revised questions: Substantive revisions in question wording are represented as separate variables (example: variable RCb04). Adjusted questions: Some questions were adjusted as campaign periods or events passed. These adjustments are indicated in the question text, with the dates of adjustment specified in braces (example: KA01). Response and other value options The detailed variable listing enumerates the response and other value options recorded for each variable. Response options read to the respondent: Any response options read to the respondent are included as part of the question text. In some cases, additional response options were accepted if volunteered; these options are enumerated in the value option list but not included in the question text (example: variable CDb01). In other cases, no response options were read to the respondent, and this is reflected in the question text (example: EB03). NAES08-Phone General explanatory notes 9 Using the survey documentation and data Whenever meaningful, response options were read in random order (see below). Multiple-answer questions: Some variables represent questions that can have multiple answers. This is indicated in the detailed variable listing by "multiple answers accepted" (example: FAb29). Verbatim answers: In some cases, respondents' verbatim answers were recorded. The detailed variable listing identifies variables with verbatim answers (example: MA01). Filters and sample splits Filters: Some variables have filters, meaning they were measured only for respondents who answered questions in particular ways or met other non-random criteria such as residency in a particular state. The detailed variable listing identifies variables with filters and describes the filter criteria (example: variable KB02). Sample splits: Some variables have sample splits and were limited to random sub-samples of respondents. The detailed variable listing identifies variables with sample splits, and indicates the size and definition of the sub-sample (example: CBa04). Variation by interviewing date: The detailed variable listing indicates filters and sample splits that changed as the survey was in progress (example: ABo05) and/or were not in effect for the full interviewing schedule (example: SC01). Representation of variables

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